Heading into Wednesday night I could feel a migraine coming on. Walking into the Majestic, the sweet sounds of Among the Wild washed over me. They are a simple three piece band consisting of a cellist and two vocalists, a man and a woman who both also played acoustic guitar. Nice and relaxed on stage, they were like a classic Head and the Heart with even more folk. After them came out Gloss Coats, an indie rock band with a guitarists that looks like a cleaned up Mac DeMarco who shreds a lot harder. They we all a ball of energy as they jammed through about 40 minutes of original tunes with only some minor issues with singing in key, I believe due to problems with monitors.
At this point, the headache is really getting to me as we wait for The Staves, and the place was really getting packed too, a surprise for a Wednesday coinciding with game 7 of the World Series.
Finally, out walk The Staves to their stations, one behind a piano, the other two behind synths, one of which being the same one Bon Iver used on 22, a million. They began by playing with an iPad looper, one of the members making harmonies with herself, then bursting into Outlaw. The sound of their voices harmonizing, I swear, cured my headache, washed away by their gorgeous voices (or the Aleve I pounded before I left, could go either way.) They were wonderful to us, interacting with the crowd, talking about what they were up to. You could imagine a band like The Staves being pretty bland on stage, but the were lively and fun, keeping the audience engaged. They ended with Teeth White, their best jam where they bounced around the stage and got the audience to sing along for the first time, although I think no one originally sang along just so you could hear their voices. Overall an amazing show, and they are due for a new LP so be on the lookout for their next album and for them to come back through Madison.
